We're back and broadcasting Shire Network News again. This week we've put together a cracking show featuring old favorites and a special timely interview with former guest, Professor Barry Rubin, Director, Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and Editor, Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal.

He is talking to us direct from Israel where he is only just outside Hamas rocket range. He's also got some very wise words for us all on not taking the media too seriously and the implications for the rest of the world of criticism of Israel's actions in trying to deal with the Hamas terrorist threat.

Please feel free to follow your host, Brian of London on Twitter. In Blog News we hear some Hamas terrorist biographies from Israellycool Dave's site. You should be following Dave's site for the best live blogging with his own brand of commentary.

We also hear Victor Davis Hanson's suggestions for how the Israelis could be a bit more "proportional" in their response.

It's been a long time but this much Gaza noise and the fact that it even invaded his cozy world of Second Life, has brought our old friend Laurence Simon out of retirement. You can find him on line at his site "This blog is full of crap" where you'll find links to his other work. Laurence mentions sending a pizza to the IDF which you can do from Pizza IDF.

Meryl Yourish is also, of course, right on top of this topic. Please visit her excellent and constantly updated blog.

We close with an extract from a particularly strong speech given by Winston Churchill. I urge you to read the whole thing. The Munich Agreement.

I will also re-iterate here: we are looking to raise money to make this show grow substantially. Please help us out if you can. We've provided years of top quality news, satire, humour and entertainment: you decide if that has been worth something to you. And to all who have donated all ready our very heartiest thanks!

If you would like to advertise on our show, please get in touch!

So with that, I commend this show to the house!

Yes your iTunes feed is not deceiving you! Shire Network News is back for one more show before Christmas. We've pulled out all the stops to bring you a whole new show with contributions from Shire Network News regulars, Meryl Yourish and Doug Payton. Both are looking back on what a fine year 2009 (yes Two Thousand and NINE) has been

In addition, Tom has been hard at work in the cutting room pulling together some of his favorite blog news items from over three years of material. I'm sure you'll agree that good satire never goes stale. Except for the story about the French rejecting the European Union. That story is so old we've had at least four more attempts by European  faceless minions to foist the sorry constitution on their various peoples since that rejection.

Tom is serious in the show, we are looking at putting on a major marketing effort in the new year and any donations you make (see the button to the right) will go toward expanding the show's audience. And not pay for Brian to be able to listen to live coverage of the numerous defeats of the England cricket team.

As ever, enjoy the show and see you all next year!

Here it is, the long awaited, we're not sulking, back from the dead episode of Shire Network News.

This week its a round table discussion between Tom Paine, Brian of London, Meryl Yourish and Doug Payton.

We're looking for your feedback!

This week Shire Network News struggles to remain upbeat and cheerful. We will not lose, we will not lose. This week's guest, Kathy Shaidle, has just released her new book (co-written with Peter Vere): "The Tyranny of Nice:  how Canada crushes freedom in the name of human rights -- and why it matters to Americans".

If you order the book from Mark Steyn's site, he'll even autograph it for you.

Kathy blogs at five feet of fury and speaks to us about the abuses of the Canadian Human Rights system.

This week the show features almost all of our more regular contributors:

Evan Sayet is on and keeping the tone optimistic. You can find details of his conservative comedy show at his web site.

Doug Payton is asking us to think carefully as usual.

Peter Glover  returns, soggy and enraged, from Wales.

Meryl Yourish is very happy not to have become a journalist.

Blog News this week has been replaced by a pep talk from our glorious leader. No, not him, the other one, Tom Paine.

In this week's edition of Shire Network News, our guest is Australian writer John Birmingham, who has just published a book in which the Left gets it's oft-stated wish that the world wakes up one day and America is simply not there anymore. It's called "Without Warning", and we must warn prospective readers, it contains plenty of what  John Birmingham calls "explody goodness".

We hear disturbing evidence of the cult-like worship of the Dear Leader, Obama, patron Saint of Hopeful Change and helmsman of all our destinies, Slow Joe Biden does a passable impersonation of Grandpa Simpson and alerts us all to the real danger we're in from....er....corn syrup. So it looks like that long-awaited carpet bombing of Iowa is getting the green light from Washington on Inauguration Day then. That'll teach those Iowans not to dis Delware's most famous Senator on Caucus night.

 The BBC gets a caning from Muslim clerics for not bending over and saying "thank you sir, may I have another" enough, Muslims get to hold religious events on state property and the ACLU doesn't dare utter a sound, and the one-eyed nature of Saudi religiosity is finally revealed for all the world to see.

Meryl Yourish says Sarah Palin is making Democrats go a little funny in the head, and Evan Sayet is not surprised that the endorsement of Sarah Palin by the chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organisation of Women has apparently slipped down the memory hole as far as the media is concerned.

Doug Payton arises like Lazarus from a bed of pain to talk about political philosophy, but honestly it's way more interesting and relevants than that sounds.

Go and see "An American Carol" this week please, in fact we are hoping to be able to speak to the film's director, David Zucker, on the podcast next week. Oh, and if you're holding off on helping the McCain campaign because you figure he's "not conservative enough" for your personal tastes, how would you feel about four years of "The Jimmy Carter Presidency, Part Two - This Time He's Black, Not That It Makes The Slightest Difference To His Incompetence And Instinctive Desire to Appease the Enemy?

I lived through the 70's, trust me on this, you do NOT want a re-run of that. Besides, disco sucked hard enough the first time, and the thought of having to endure constant jihadi suicide attacks on our major domestic population centers while having nothing but Bee Gees tribute groups or KC and the Sunshine Band retrospectives to listen to on the radio is simply too much to bear.

This week's guest is Dr Rusty Shackleford, proprietor and founder of the My Pet Jawa Blog. Using just his computer and an internet connection he stumbled on what looks like a possible campaign scandal. His first post on this broke the story to the world.

Rusty explains to us exactly what astroturfing and sockpuppetry are and the steps he and his team of web sleuths went through to do the job the Main Stream Media won't do for you.

In Blog News this week we look into the British Identity card that seems to carry no sign of British identity. Eurabia here we come!

Weird Fatwa of the week is all about mouse extermination and it doesn't stop at real mice, oh no, cartoons are once again raising the ire of Muslims.

The Washington Post is not a reliable source for the McCain campaign to cite in campaign adverts. According to the Washington Post.

CAIR now believes we can blame the people who flew into buildings on 9-11 in addition to the United States. Thank you. And from Iraq, internal Al Qeda memos have surfaced in the hands of yet another dead Muslim terrorist.

Doug Payton joins us again with his top nine answers Ahmadinejad would give at a presidential debate.

Meryl Yourish gives us one of her best ever pieces (we're not biased) comparing the speech of Ahmadinejad at the UN with the speeches of Hitler. Hitler quotes are voiced by us (no we haven't discovered unknown recordings). This is powerful stuff. Zionist = Jew is the filthy trick he's using and the world, almost to a man, is buying it again.

Brian makes some reference to his postings on Israellycool. Stick that in your RSS reader.

Evan will return when he can.

 It's all-Palin, all the time here on Shire Network News this week, as the race suddenly gets flipped and Republicans look like winners. Naturally, we mock our chums in the Democratic Party and the media (but we repeat ourselves).

There are scandals involving a British soldier being refused a hotel room, verbal inexactitude from Senator Obama which would have earned President Bush a scathing Moment of Zen from Jon Stewart, the Democratic Party has a message for all those women out there, and an Iraq war veteran has a message for Senator Obama.

Oh, and we have some rather disturbing love of nature.

The feature interview is with El Marco, whose photoblog, Looking At The Left is doing sterling work in exposing the reality of leftist protests. He used to be a Canadian hippie you know.

Meryl Yourish hearts Governor Sarah Palin. Doug Payton hearts Palin as well. And hey, what do you know, so does Evan Sayet! Is this a trend? Oh, support conservative comedy! Go see Evan's show in Los Angeles, third Tuesday of ever month. Right To Laugh. Be there or be somewhere else.

Brian of London is .... missing in action. His subtle guiding hand may have helped coax this show onto the interweb, but we know not where he is.

Canada's Human Rights apparatus is at it again! We talk this week to Guy Earle, who committed the unpardonable sin of having a go at some hecklers at a show in Vancouver.

They were lesbians, and it turns out the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has decreed lesbians are permanently out of season and probably a doubly protected species (they're Gay and Women!), so now Guy Earle is in the same boat as Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant.

Read more about his impending legal fight at his website. If you're in Toronto on the 19th, do be sure to support Guy Earle's fight with the anti-free-speech bureaucracy by going along to the Comics for Freedom Rally at The Comedy Bar which is at 945B Floor West.

In Blog news this week we express our support for the left wingers (I know, I know) over at Harry's Place who are getting into a legal battle with Hamas. Well done for drawing them out into the open where the rest of us can snipe that them! More about those people who are withdrawing from IslamExpo can be found here.

The use of the term Black Hole (by anyone except Stephen Hawkins we assume) is now not allowed in racially hyper aware America. More details from Michell Malkin and Five Feet of Fury.

Despite what the NYT or Fox or any other mainstream outlets might say, the latest Fauxtography scoop came from LGF. The Iranian reports of Israelis fleeing Israel (which seem to be as trustworthy as their photographs) can be found on Ynet.

This week Meryl is discussing Pat Buchanan, Doug has a few things on his mind and Evan is talking about the implications of Guy Earle's prosecution in Canada.

This week's show is hosted by former tea boy, Doug Payton. The feature interview this week is with journalist Bill Bishop, author of "The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart".  He says America is increasingly divided, not just politically, but by basic, fundamental world views.

You can find his book at Amazon: The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart .

We have blog news this week, but you'll have to listen to the show to find out what's in it!

After a long period spent doing... who knows what, Damian Penny is back with a piece on the Canadian free speech fights.

Meryl Yourish turns in a piece this week on a wide variety of subjects.

Tom Paine has his usual chat with Evan Sayet. You can find his blog here.

Shire Network News is hosted from Virginia this week by Meryl Yourish, who does not stint on her patented juvenile scorn

The feature interview this week is with Ann Bayefsky, editor of the Eye on the UN website and Director of the Touro College Institute of Human Rights and the Holocaust.

She says the 2001 Durban Conference on Racism, which turned into an anti-semitic hatefest, is being repeated shortly in Geneva, and as happened the first time, it's been hijacked by Islamic countries, who seem bent on widening the focus to include taking away the right to free speech. The nerve of those guys! Where do they think they are? Canada?

In Blog News, Europe votes on who should be US President! Is ignored. Gets pants in bunch. Complains bitterly, cries, drinks more wine. Situation normal in other words.

Father Michael Pfleger reveals his speech at the Trinity Church in Chicago which got him and the church into so much hot water last week was a huge misunderstanding. He was under the impression he was auditioning for the lead rile in the new movie "Honkey preacher-dude be seriously TRIPPIN'!"

Christian preachers arrested on the streets of a British town for...well, for being Christian preachers. Turns out they were in one of those Mulsim "no-go" zones everyone keeps saying don't exist.

And the British Royal Marines instantaneously cave in when Malaysia complains about one of their recruiting ads. Hey Royal Marines, forget it. It's not as if Malaysia flicked your ears, stole your iPod and called you "Mr Bean". That's the Iranians. Malaysia is a totally different Muslim country for you to surrender to without firing a shot.

And Robert Mugabe has reached a new low, even by Zimbabwe's pitiful standards. His mishandling of the country is now being openly lampooned by South African radio personalities. Hey, we hear Farmer Bob is in Italy attending a UN Food conference this week (whoa, our irony meter just exploded!) Gee, where's George Monbiot when you actually need him?

Shire Network News is so called because the man who started it, "Tom Paine" hails originally from New Zealand, which did such a great job of looking exactly like Tolkein's Shire in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings.

This week's show is hosted from New Zealand by well known Kiwi blogger Murray, whose work you can find at Hitting Metal With a Hammer. And no, he is not related to Gimli. As far as we know. Gimli's just nowhere nearly as aggressive and warlike as Murray.

This week's guest is Dr Walid Phares, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies where he focuses on Middle East history and politics, global terrorist movements, democratization and human rights.

He speaks to us about the Hizbollah intimidation of the government of Lebanon, and whatever happened to the amazing disappearing Bush doctrine.

In Blog News this week, Muslim radicals show maximum respect to the fearsome UK constabulary, is Barak Obama's mysterious middle name actually "Neville", we ask why Londoners are confused as to why some guy can get stabbed to death in broad daylight in Oxford St, what length the Yorkshire Ripper's sentence ought to be (and should it be measured in years or length of rope) and Murray tells the rest of the world why they should use New Zealand as a horrible example of what happens when a government actually believes in global warming and signs Kyoto.

We have our regular chat with Evan Sayet and you can pre-order his new book on Amazon.

And Meryl Yourish is along to make fun of someone's name. But he deserves it.

This week week we conclude our chat with Prof Barry Rubin, Director, Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and Editor, Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal .

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the modern state of Israel, Barry joins us to talk about his latest reprinting of "The Israel Arab Reader". The book provides over 300 original source documents and gives a massive amount of background into the Israeli Arab struggle.

In Blog news this week we cover such delights as the BBC's new advert to remind people in Britain that they can go to jail for not paying up their Telly Tax. Biased BBC has the video.

The Wall Street Journal has more about the "Hostile" environment at Dartmouth.

Our own Meryl Yourish brought to our attention the disgrace words of Tom Levitt. You can read more here.

We have our regular chat with Evan Sayet and you can pre-order his new book on Amazon.

Meryl Yourish is talking about the reason Israel needs a strong army and air force. It's not complicated, Jews just don't think the UN is up to protecting them.

The version of Hatikva I play at the end of the show can be bought as part of the boxed set linked to here. Do consider it, the rest of the performances are terrific too.

We have been nominated for an award. Oh dear.

This week week's guest is Prof Barry Rubin, Director, Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and Editor, Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal .

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the modern state of Israel, Barry joins us to talk about his latest reprinting of "The Israel Arab Reader". The book provides over 300 original source documents and gives a massive amount of background into the Israeli Arab struggle.

In blog news this week we cover the news that Israel bombed a North Korean built nuclear bomb fuel plant in Syria last September. Click if you want to see the full lyrics of Bob Dylan's Neighborhood Bully.

The summing up of the US election race if from Red State Update. Genius. We found it via HotAir.

We also have work from Meryl Yourish, Doug Payton and Damian Penny. Be sure to follow all their blogs.

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If you enjoy this podcast,why not share it with your friends? Send a link to Shire Network News to anyone you know who might also get a kick out of robustly-expressed free opinion.

Shire Network News is, of course absolutely free. Unfortunately, explaining that to the local phone company,the electronics store and all the others is not so easy. This iswhere you, the grateful listener can play a vital role,by hitting the tip jar button which you can find on the right of your screen.

You can subscribe to SNN on Apple iTunes using the iTunes 1-clickbutton at the top of this post, or download it directly from the Blogmatrix site.

If you don't have iTunes, I can recommend Podcastready.com a link to which is also in the sidebar to the right.

This week we continue a deep and meaningful discussion that ranges across the political spectrum. Douglas Murray andNickCohenjoin Tom Paine to disucuss the failures on both Left and Right to come to terms with a Jihadi threat.

On the Right we have Douglas Murray, the director of the think tank, CentreforSocial Cohesion and the author of "Neo-Conservatism:WhyWeNeed It".

From the Left, broadly speaking, as he's not on good terms with most of his former comrades just at present,isBritishjournalist Nick Cohen, author of "What's Left: How Liberals Lost their Way".

This is the second of a two part disucssion and should not be missed. They explore the failing of the left and of partsoftheright to come to terms with the real enemy everyone is facing. You can find part one here.

In blog news this week I talk about the "Free Speech in an age of Jihad" conference I attended. Atlas Shrugs has much more about it.

Free Speech is now officially under attack, and as some of the Canuck Six are just private citizens with little corporatebacking, do please visit Small DeadAnimals and Five Feet of Fury

And seeing as we'reliving in the 21st century with this her newfangled internet thingy, you can also buy the t-shirt.

If you don't believe us about the banning of Jerusalem, the DailyMail has the story.

We have our regular chat with Evan Sayet and you can pre-order his newbook on Amazon

Meryl Yourish is also back on the show with a rant about Carter

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If you enjoy this podcast, whynotshareitwith your friends? Send a link to ShireNetworkNews to anyone you know who might also get a kick out of robustly-expressedfree opinion.

Shire Network News is, of course absolutelyfree. Unfortunately, explaining that to the local phone company, the electronicsstore and all the others is not so easy. This iswhere you, the grateful listener can play a vital role, by hitting the tip jarbutton which you can find on the right of yourscreen.

You can subscribe to SNN onAppleiTunesusing the iTunes 1-clickbutton at the top of this post, ordownload it directly from the Blogmatrix site.

If you don't have iTunes, I can recommend Podcastready.com a link to which is also in the sidebar to the right.

For the second week, our guest is British MP for Wells, David Heathcote-Amery.

In the interests of getting the show out, full show notes will follow in a day or so.

This week's show features Meryl Yourish and our regular chat with EvanSayet. Be sure to take a look at their web sites from time to time. You can pre-order Evan's new book here at Amazon

This week's show comes to you, not from London, and not even from our emergency backup studio in Australia. No, Shire Network News this week is hosted by Meryl Yourish in Richmond VA!

The feature interview is a continuation of the discussion from last week with retired Green Beret Lt Col Gordon Cucullu, who is worried about the increasing cultural gap between western military forces and the civillian population.

This week Meryl backs up CAMERA's catching out of the BBC in yet another blatant lie about Israel, and wonders if their public admissions about their attitudes towards Jews might have something to do with that.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference says it's going to sue anyone who criticises Islam by suggesting they're over sensitive to criticism. Hey, we don't make this stuff up, we just report it.

Barak Obama's pastor, the one whose sermons he apparently managed not to hear for, oh, the last 20 years, has his views on race and history dissected.

Rolling Stone magazine's incisive, hard-hitting, take-no prisoners reputation for solid old-school political reportage is further enhanced with a cover showing Barak Obama wreathed in a halo of light. There was no angelic choir in the background, but I guess you're supposed to just imagine that bit.

We hear from SNN contributor Tomer Israeli in Jerusalem about what it's like living in a country where a sizable proportion of the citizens want to kill you.

Hollywood entertainer and conservative convert-from-leftism Evan Sayet comments on what it means now that playwright David Mamet has seen the light.

And for the latest Barak Obama Hopeful Change news, go watch this video on You Tube. It won't leave you unchanged. We hope.

For those of you interested in secret trials behind closed doors, it turns out you don't have to visit some third world hell-hole to find one. Mark Steyn and MacLeans magazine are trying to make a star chamber proceeding in Canada open to the press, and you can help. For details, click here.

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If you enjoy this podcast, why not share it with your friends? Send a link to Shire Network News to anyone you know who might also get a kick out of robustly-expressed free opinion.

Shire Network News is, of course absolutely free. Unfortunately, explaining that to the local phone company, the electronics store and all the others is not so easy. This is where you, the grateful listener can play a vital role, by hitting the tip jar button which you can find on the right of your screen.

You can subscribe to SNN on Apple iTunes using the iTunes 1-click button at the top of this post, or download it directly from the Blogmatrix site.

If you don't have iTunes, I can recommend Podcastready.com a link to which is also in the sidebar to the right.

Our feature interview is with the author of "Culturism", John Press, who says if we don't believe we have the right to defend our own culture, then we'll lose it. Which would be bad. For everyone.

The book is available at his website and at Amazon dot com.

In this week's show, we mark the passing of William F Buckley, discuss the UK government's much-feared new anti-jihadi strategy of making terrorists sit on the naughty seat, now that Kosovo is independent, how long will California remain part of the United States,and we have excerpts from this remarkable You Tube video of a group of students watching growing increasingly incredulous as the BBC resolutely refuses to do its job and cover breaking news.

Meryl Yourish is along with a handy guide for perplexed US voters.

Hollywood conservative comedian, Evan Sayet, is along to clue us in as to why people are avoiding Tinseltown's anti-war borefests.

Congratulations also to one of our regular contributors, Damian Penny, whose blog, Daimnation, has been ranked as 8th in the list of Canada's top 25 political blogs. The "A Dime A Dozen" blog used a combination of web traffic and Alexa ranking to work out which websites are most influential. In first place was, naturally Mark Steyn , and the wonderful Kate McMillan's Small Dead Animals came in at number four.

Just behind Damian Penny in tenth place is the absolutely brilliant Kathy Shaidle with Five Feet of Fury, and all of them managed to top Canada's answer to Lionel Hutz,Warren Kinsella who limped home at number 24.

Ezra Levant returns to our show for the second week and talks about how the blogosphere is the real power behind the fight back against Human Rights Commissions and other transgressions of the state. He tells us about the Union he has formed to protect bloggers from malicious legal threats.

He tells us that the left should be joining the right on these issues: it is only the "soft bigotry of low expectations" that stops the left realising the people they are silently supporting are against everything they claim to stand for.

You can follow this link to part 1 and you can find Ezra Levan't own website at ezralevant.com.

Tom also mentions Warren Kinsella and his site is linked.

In Blog News this week we visit Israellycool Dave with Banking on the Gullible.

The story about Bob Geldof praising George Bush and bashing the media I found on Libertas, the blog of the Liberty Film Festival.

House of Dumb provided the Fisking of the BBC's pitiful coverage of Danish riots.

The sound clip of the "new" creed for the Anglican Church comes from the classic TV show Not the Nine O'clock News. You can find the video to match it here.

Meryl Yourish returns to the show with another celebrity interview. You can find her must read site yourish.com.

As mentioned in the show, Evan Sayet would like you to know that if you're in Los Angeles on March 15th, he's staging a buffet and show package featuring his unique brand of conservative comedy, called Right to Laugh.

It's at the Ha Ha Cafe, 5010 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood.

Doors open at two for food and schmoozing with the show itself, kicking off at around three. Food and the show are just thirty dollars (tickets sold at the door), with free parking in the Bank of America lot across the street.

And you can read more of Evan's insightful and funny work at his blog.

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If you enjoy this podcast, why not share it with your friends? Send a link to Shire Network News to anyone you know who might also get a kick out of robustly-expressed free opinion.

Shire Network News is, of course absolutely free. Unfortunately, explaining that to the local phone company, the electronics store and all the others is not so easy. This is where you, the grateful listener can play a vital role, by hitting the tip jar button which you can find on the right of your screen.

You can subscribe to SNN on Apple iTunes using the iTunes 1-click button at the top of this post, or download it directly from the Blogmatrix site.

If you don't have iTunes, I can recommend Podcastready.com a link to which is also in the sidebar to the right.

Mark Steyn joins Tom Paine on Shire Network News this week to talk about all the ways in which he is currently under investigation. In the first of a two part interview Mark joins us again and unleases a torrent of witty and clever observation. It's not a left right thing.

If you don't already have his book, America Alone, may we thoroughly recommend it and that you pass some time looking at his website.

You can subscribe to SNN on Apple iTunes using the iTunes 1-click button at the top of this post, or download it directly from the Blogmatrix site.

In blog news I refer to the following video by Caral Bruni, now the new Mrs President.

Sheik Yer'mami's website can be found here.

Also this week we once again hear from Evan Sayet who's trying to get over the drop out of Rudy and Fred.

Meryl Yourish has found some fishy Scientology goings on in Sderot.

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If you enjoy this podcast, why not share it with your friends? Send a link to Shire Network News to anyone you know who might also get a kick out of robustly-expressed free opinion.

Shire Network News is, of course absolutely free. Unfortunately, explaining that to the local phone company, the electronics store and all the others is not so easy. This is where you, the grateful listener can play a vital role, by hitting the tip jar button which you can find on the right of your screen.

You can subscribe to SNN on Apple iTunes using the iTunes 1-click button at the top of this post, or download it directly from the Blogmatrix site.

If you don't have iTunes, I can recommend Podcastready.com a link to which is also in the sidebar to the right.